Looking back on the twenty years of the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady era in New England, it is filled with a lot of success, winning, and unbelievable accomplishments. It's what any fan would dream of for their favorite team, never mind occurring during a record span.
From nine Super Bowl appearances( and six wins) and record-breaking AFC Championship appearances to legendary players being born year after year, there was a lot of excitement surrounding all the success during the infamous dynasty.
But with all of the good that occurred, some questions still haunt the minds of fans today, no matter how much success the team accomplished.
Many of those thoughts have become the biggest what-ifs of the Belichick/Brady era, which may never be answered or could have drastically altered the team's fate.
5 of the biggest what-ifs for the Patriots during the Bill Belichick era
What if Tom Brady never left New England after the 2019 season?
One of the biggest what-ifs on any Patriots fan's mind is Tom Brady's departure and what could have happened with the team had he never left for the Bucs. Due to his age, it was apparent the quarterback's end was nearing (or so we thought), but watching him go due to drama behind the scenes was not expected by even the most cynical fan.
We know how the rest of his career went once he signed with Tampa Bay, winning another Super Bowl to becoming even more the winningest quarterback in NFL history and to some, seemingly settling the debate of who was more valuable to the dynasty; him or Bill Belichick.
But based on what is known now regarding his reason for wanting to leave the Patriots, it's difficult not to think about how his departure could have been easily avoided and all that could have resulted from him staying a few years longer, preferably finishing his career in Foxboro.
Seeing what Brady accomplished with the Bucs made it ever so clear that he was far from needing to hang it up, and if he were given a more than adequate offense, he could accomplish great things. That had become the biggest issue during the final few years of his Patriots tenure, mainly due to Belichick's reluctance to spend big money on the caliber of players the team needed to thrive and be competitive.
That's exactly what he got with the Bucs, joining a team with top receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones II, and fresh out-of-retirement tight end Rob Gronkowski. Eventually, Antonio Brown would also sign with the team, giving Brady the ultimate dream team to work with.
If Belichick gave him even half that roster, it might have convinced Brady to stay. Or maybe it was too far gone between the successful duo that it wouldn't matter what the roster looked like, the quarterback was leaving regardless.
But it's hard not to consider Belichick bulking up the offense around Brady to really put them over the top just two seasons removed from winning their sixth Super Bowl together.
Perhaps it could have resulted in winning number seven or, at the very least, keeping Brady a Patriot until his eventual retirement.
What if Asante Samuel caught that interception in Super Bowl XLII?
Does it even need to be said?
Perhaps the biggest what if? in Patriots history also revolves around one of the most painful games for any New England fan to have watched or relived, even 17 years later. The Patriots just completed the best regular season in the league's history, going undefeated all the way to the Super Bowl, and the New York Giants were the only team standing in their way of recording the first 19-0 season.
They had just beaten them a few weeks before, and although it wasn't an easy matchup by any means that first time around, the Patriots were an unstoppable team loaded in all phases of the game.
We know what happened next, and unfortunately, it's a question that will likely haunt fans for the rest of their lives, regardless of whether the team won three more Super Bowls in the years after.
The final plays of Super Bowl XLII, all of which led to the infamous helmet catch, are still hard to entirely accept. What would have been the perfect season ended up becoming an absolute nightmare, and it could have been avoided in one pivotal play.
If Asante Samuel had caught that interception, the helmet catch never would have happened, and the Patriots would have walked out of Glendale the Champions. Although they had already completed the first half of the dynasty, setting multiple records on top of winning the Super Bowl would have made the season even sweeter.
Instead, it's a few-second clip that those outside New England love to post whenever they want to poke at a Patriots fan, immediately ruining an otherwise good day.
Although Samuel is the foundation of the what if?, other instances led to the interception that could have been avoided as well, ultimately dramatically altering the Patriots' fate that night. But Samuel catching the football would've been the easiest way to seal the game, and it will never not be a question fans ask themselves when reflecting upon that nightmare Super Bowl.
What if Drew Bledsoe never got injured during the 2001 season?
One of the most league-defining decisions in NFL history has to be Bill Belichick keeping Tom Brady in as the Patriots starter after Drew Bledsoe returned from a nearly fatal injury during the 2000 season. It was a decision that led to the start of the Patriots dynasty, going on for almost two decades, and defined an era in Foxboro that never could have been imagined.
But what if Bledsoe had never gotten injured, forcing Brady to be put into the game?
The future Patriots Hall of Famer had recently been signed to a ten-year, $100 million contract to remain the face of the franchise. He was a leading force in bringing relevancy back to the team since he was drafted with the first overall pick in the 1993 draft.
During his tenure, Bledsoe helped break the Patriots' seven-year playoff drought and led them to the postseason four times, one of which ended with an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI. The Patriots won the AFC East twice and he was named to three Pro Bowls during the first eight years of his career, solidfying his role within the offense for an expected long career.
So when he suffered a near-fatal injury during the 2001 season and was replaced by questionable backup Tom Brady, he was expected to remain the starter once he was cleared to return to football. When Belichick ultimately decided that wouldn't be the case, the Patriots went on an incredible two-decade domination that never could have been predicted.
It was a decision Belichick didn't take lightly and went against owner Robert Kraft's preference to put Bledsoe back in the starting role. It ended up being the best choice the team had ever made, resulting in nine Super Bowl appearances and six wins, yet it all could have been a pipedream if the head coach did what Kraft wanted him to do.
It is wild to consider how the Patriots would have fared with Bledsoe compared to what they accomplished with Brady under center.
A controversial decision by Belichick laid the groundwork for what was to come over the next twenty years, surely something most fans outside of New England wish hadn't been made.
What if Bill Belichick never benched Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl 52?
The Patriots kicked off what would become the second half of their two-decade dynasty with a lot of steam, winning Super Bowl XLIX over the Seahawks in historic fashion. It had been ten years since they won their last, despite representing the AFC in two Championship games during that time.
The final minutes of that game in Glendale catapulted undrafted rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler into immediate stardom. He accomplished the unthinkable against a high-powered Seattle offense by picking off Russell Wilson in the end zone to seal the win for New England.
His face was plastered all over newspapers and media broadcasts for weeks after the game, and his performance in the years after made his stock rise within the league.
Butler became one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL, joining the long list of UDFAs who were successful under Bill Belichick's coaching. That made it all the more confusing when he was noticeably absent from the field for any defensive snap during Super Bowl LII three years later.
In fact, he was only used for one special teams play in the game against the Eagles, where Tom Brady set new quarterback records and the defense was a complete letdown, prompting many to believe Butler could have made a significant difference had he been used.
Once the game was over and the Patriots inevitably lost, mainly due to an underperforming defense, among other controversies, Belichick would not address why he chose to bench Butler for the game. Rumors spread about the reason, but to this day, there's no clear-cut answer as to why one of the better cornerbacks on the team was on the sideline and not on the field.
It will forever be a question lingering in the minds of Patriots fans, especially considering the team could have won four Super Bowls in five years to further cement their dominance and legacies since Belichick's arrival.
What if the Patriots beat the Broncos in the 2016 AFC Championship game?
The start of the Patriots dynasty was awe-inspiring, winning three Super Bowls in four years, yet they would match it over a decade later by winning another three Championships in five years to seal the end of quite an era.
It started with Super Bowl XLIX, finally ending the championship drought that plagued the Patriots for over a decade, and followed up with wins in Super Bowl LI and LIII.
Although it was a fun time, and most fans look back on the years fondly, it's hard not to question how different it all could have been if the Patriots had beaten the Broncos in the AFC Championship game from the 2015 season.
It was the final season for Peyton Manning, who went on to win Super Bowl 50 over the red-hot Panthers to ride off into the sunset of retirement with a second Lombardi to tie brother Eli, courtesy of the Denver defense.
The legendary quarterback had not played well that season and had actually been benched for his backup at one point, but it didn't matter when Brady and Manning's teams played each other; it was always a tougher game than anticipated.
The Broncos played hard against the visiting Patriots, sacking Brady four times and intercepting him twice. And as usual, the game came down to the final seconds, with the New England offense hoping to tie the game with a successful two-point conversion, only to come up short with just 12 seconds left in regulation.
It could have been avoided, but usual reliable kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed an extra point after the team's first touchdown in the first quarter, making the situation even worse.
The idea of the Patriots competing in Super Bowl XLIX, 50, LI, LIII, and LIII is difficult not to dwell on because it proves just how much turmoil the Brady/Belichick Patriots wreaked havoc over the NFL, Plus adding another championship to Brady's resume would have been great, and maybe taken a little sting out of the eventual loss to the Eagles in 2017.
Maybe it comes from a spoiled place since fans should be more than thrilled that the Patriots won six Super Bowls in two decades. But the what-ifs are not easy to ignore, even this many years later, and even more so knowing how the end of the dynasty came about.